Although it was once the very core and whole reason for a "holiday season" -- Christmas is fast becoming the one holiday that dare not speak its name!
Instead, while Americans are urged to fight and die for religious freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq, back home Americans dare only refer to Christmas as "the holidays" or "this festive time of year" or "a time for giving" or "that special time of year."
Many donīt dare utter "Merry Christmas," instead daring only to wish one another a "Seasons Greetings" or "Happy Holidays."
Even more shockingly, the silencing of Christmas is being done in the name of tolerance and inclusiveness -- a tolerance intolerant of this key holiday to many Christians, and an inclusiveness exclusive of Christians.
Imagine if a Christian were offended by the mere mention of Kwanza, Chanukah, Ramadan, or Yuletide (the pagan winter solstice). Theyīd be considered hateful and intolerant, and told that America is a multicultural country. Yet hypocritically, the opposite rule applies to Christians -- who are deemed intolerant for mentioning their holiday!
Iīve heard that the colors "red and green" are suspect in some quarters, for being "too Christmas-specific." And some people even find Santa offensive! -- because heīs "too Christian"!
* But Not Everyone Celebrates...
A source tells me that when he began working in the IT department of a New York City insurance company in the 1980s, the employees held an annual "Kris Kringle", drawing each otherīs names, and secretly giving small gifts for whomever they picked. But after the fall of Communism came an influx of Russian Jewish immigrants -- which is fine -- but they began complaining that "Kris" implied "Christ" and that "not everyone celebrates Christmas." So the "Kris Kringle" celebration was renamed "Grab Bag."
"Grab Bag." Thereīs the "holiday spirit" -- gimme, gimme, gimme!
So it seems that publicly celebrating a holiday that "not everyone celebrates" is offensive and insensitive.
But not everyone celebrates Halloween, Martin Luther Kingīs Day, or Yom Kippur, or Saint Valentineīs Day. Should they all be celebrated in secret, in the privacy of your homes, because "not everyone celebrates them"? Must you not wish someone a "Happy Birthday" unless the entire world also happens to be celebrating their birthday on that day?
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